Apple CEO Tim Cook put to rest today any doubt that Apple has had its engineers working round the clock to fix the bugs in the new Maps app in its iOS 6 mobile operating system.

“At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers,” Cook said today in a 219-word apology addressed “to our customers” and posted on the company’s web site. “With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.”

Apple released the update to its mobile operating system Sept. 19, adding a new maps service that was built using its own data rather than relying on maps information from partner-turned-smartphone and tablet rival, Google. Users immediately began criticizing Apple’s app, calling it dumb, sad, awful” and annoying after getting incorrect directions, the lack of local public transit information and poor search results that don’t even deliver addresses in the right city. Photos of Apple’s maps showing distorted images are rapidly turning into humorously named slideshows, including a Tumblr called “The Apple iOS 6 Maps are amazing. Not.”

Forrester analyst Kerry Bodine speculated that the app would never have been released by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who she says understood the importance of putting the “customer experience first.”

"Steve Jobs defined a clear customer experience strategy for Apple: We will provide the most incredible possible experience and we will command a premium price for it. It’s what made Apple famous, and it’s what its legions of loyal customers – true Apple fans – across the world expect. And now, Apple has let them down,” said Bodine, author of Outside In, a book about improving customer experience.

"Jobs always put the customer experience first. If he were alive today, I’m positive he would have made the tough decision to prioritize the user experience over the urgency to include Apple Maps in iOS 6," she said. "The decision to move forward with a not-ready-for-primetime mapping app has the potential to erode the trust that Jobs built, and the Apple brand right along with it."

Cook, who took over as CEO in August 2011, said that more than 100 million iOS devices are using the new software and Maps app. That includes iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch users and owners of the new iPhone 5, which was released last week. Apple said customers bought more than 5 million iPhone 5’s in its opening weekend. The iPhone is the company's top money-maker, accounting for almost half of sales.

“iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations," Cook wrote. "The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.”

While Apple works on its improvements, Cook suggested that frustrated users seek out alternatives in the company’s App store, including Microsoft’s “Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.”

Even with the Maps misstep, financial analysts don’t believe it will put off buyers from taking home the iPhone 5. Ben Reitzes, an analyst with Barclays Capital, praised Cook for addressing the issue "a little faster than we expected."